Pandemic Papers: An interview with Michael Kennedy (Class of 2019)

He’s one of the truly good guys. Michael Kennedy (Class of 2019) was, in my eyes, quietly heroic. In battling injuries, he fiercely asked for more and took cross training to lengths I had never seen. The pool workouts we came up with were borderline sadistic; he always completed them and always asked for more. He parlayed those down moments of running into great moments of running. Sometimes, in disappointment, the greatness shines through. I remember distinctly the MAAC cross country championships at Holmdel Park, fall of 2017, Kennedy’s junior year. The late summer/fall started with him dealing with yet another injury, forcing him to hammer out crazy long pool workouts. And yet there he was, emerging from the woods as our number two man on an otherwise bummer of a day and a meet, stepping up where others failed to step up. I’ll never forget that. We also fondly remember his amazing, single-digit (eighth-place) performance in the cold, sloppy rain of the 2018 MAAC Championships in Colonie. And his herculean efforts in the absolute slop of Buffalo regionals.

So many other good thoughts about Kennedy: His willingness to go along with my experiment of “segment” fartlek workouts during the winter months. Again, he parlayed these experiments into great 10,000-meter races during the outdoor track season. His quiet leadership of our team. His continued close relationship with Big Bob Andrews, his high school coach and mentor (and father of a pretty decent USA runner named Robby Andrews … perhaps you’ve heard of him). His devotedness to all things Campus Ministry, even his sharing his paper on the history of the Marist Brothers that he wrote during his independent study with Brother Sean. I have so many great memories and photos of 30 years of coaching, but high on that list is a small framed photo in my closet office at home, given to me by Kennedy, with two pictures – one with me and him, arms together, after his final race (IC4As, 10km, Princeton) and one with the two of us at commencement a week later. I glance at it every day, and I’m thankful for it every day. Good heavens, I’ll stop with the lovefest already, and I’ll just let you read about the ultimate Good Guy, Kennedy, in his own words.

Go back to the beginning: When, where and why did you begin running?

I started running track in middle school when I was in 8^th grade as a way to stay in shape for soccer. The tryouts worked as a point system where everyone did every event then at the end the tally was counted up. Looking back, it was almost like a heptathlon. Needless to say, my long jump and shot put throwing were not the best, so I ended up running the 1600m and 400m at meets.

Talk about your high school running career -- highlights, big moments, and your relationship as a coach/athlete with Big Bob Andrews?

I played soccer my freshman year but after running track in the winter and spring, I decided to focus on running so I started running XC my sophomore year.  My biggest high school highlight was probably finishing in the top-10 in my county XC meet senior year. I never made it to past the first round of states in any season. Another fun memory from senior year is when I was going to run a 400m at an indoor meet, but the meet was running way over time so they ended up turning it into coaches hand-timed 200m with waves starting every ten seconds. I believe I broke 30, but I wouldn’t bet any money on it.

I was lucky to have Big Bob as a coach. The close relationship we have started my junior year. Up until that point, he called me “the freshman” because as anyone who was coached by him will tell you, he’s terrible with names. Right before my junior year started, I had a stress fracture in my femoral neck and I was on crutches for six weeks. I ended up having to miss the XC season, so once winter track came around I was excited to get back to running. But Big Bob wanted to ease me back into training so that season consisted of me pacing the girls team in workouts and only running half the distance of the rest of the guys on easy runs. I raced a 1600m once at the end of the season, in trainers. In the spring I rejoined the guys team for workouts, but he still limited my mileage on easy runs.

After my injury I thought I had no chance of running in college, but Big Bob was committed to helping me find the right running program. We sat down one day and looked at the last few years of XC conference and regional results in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions because I knew I wanted to stay relatively close to home. We wrote out a list of schools we thought I could be in the top-7 by my junior year of college. That really meant a lot to me. Looking back, I’m very thankful for his guidance through that injury and making sure I didn’t rush back too quickly. In my senior year I got back to full training and after the XC season he helped me reach out to college coaches. He was a great mentor to me throughout my years at Marist and remains to be now in my post-grad life.

How, when and why did you choose Marist over other schools? What was the recruiting process like?

After talking to coaches and touring campuses, I was down to Marist and St. Joe’s in Philly. I was also considering American University in DC, but I was not fast enough to run there so that was a backup plan if running at other schools didn’t work out.

I did an overnight visit at St. Joe’s and liked it, but I wasn’t ready to make any decision until after I did an overnight at Marist. I’m not sure if you’ll remember this Pete (Editor’s note: Not surprisingly, I don’t remember this), but my scheduled overnight was canceled because the team got stuck in Boston after a meet due to a snowstorm and I was supposed to come on that Sunday. I ended up coming the following Sunday to Monday. I spent most of my time with Rizzo and stayed in the old Gartland housing. A funny memory from that visit was a snowball fight between Rizzo, Spencer, Stefan, and me. I ran with the team both days and by the end of the visit I knew Marist was the right fit for me. It had the major I wanted to study and I liked the vibe I got from you and the team for being able to fit in and focus on becoming a better runner.

You had great academic success at Marist. What are some of your favorite memories -- professors, classes, etc. -- of your academic career at Marist?

I came into Marist majoring in finance, but I always liked math; I just didn’t know what careers involved it. Eddie White introduced me to the field I am working in now during my first semester. After talking with him and professors, and researching it more, I decided to pick up a second major in Mathematics and I’m very glad I did!

I had many great professors throughout my four years, but the professor I was closest to, probably because I was in his office hours so often, was Dr. Krog from the Mathematics department. I had him for four courses, including capping senior year. He had a great sense of humor to keep classes interesting and he cared about his students’ success. He was also happy to write any letter of recommendations I ever needed.

Some memories are freshman year when my class would take over a few tables on the top floor of the library most nights. I’m not sure if work ever got done, but that was always fun. A funny memory from my junior year was taking an Excel course with Joe Miller. We were able to do homework together and we had a lot of good laughs in that class. Another memory that stands out is the late-night Cab or Giacomo’s runs with Dietrich (Mosel) while we working in the Investment Center on homework or papers.

You were very involved with Campus Ministry at Marist. What got you started in that and tell us some of your fondest memories during that timeframe?

I got the job of being Sacristan my freshmen year through Tino (Mark Valentino). At the time, the current Sacristan was a senior, so they needed someone new for next year and Tino was the piano player at church. He recommended me to Father LaMorte. Also, at the end of my freshman year, I applied to be a member of the Campus Ministry Student Advisory Board and after a few rounds of interviews, I was invited to join starting my sophomore year.

Some of my favorite memories:

--The Giving Tree project and Mass. The Student Advisory Board was in charge of the project during the fall semester. At the end of the project was the Marist Christmas mass in December, which was always special to be a part of.

--A service trip I went on to Merida, Mexico during spring break of my junior year. It was a group of about 15 of us and we stayed at a Marist Community Center. While we were there, we built a fenced-in area for their animals, cleaned up their garden, and built another garden so they could grow more food. The goal of the center is to feed 200 children lunch every day. I met a lot of great friends on that trip and it’s something we’ll always remember.

--An independent study I did with Brother Sean during my senior year. The class was about the founder of the Marist Brothers, Marcellin Champagnat, and the history of the Brothers. I learned a lot from Brother Sean that semester and we have stayed close since then.

I miss Sunday Masses at Marist too. The XC/track team filled up one section of the church and that was always fun. I am also happy that other members of the team like Denise (Grohn), and now (Patrick) Kutch (who I heard makes a great Santa), became part of the Student Advisory Board too.

Talk about what you are doing now in terms of your work life and how it was/is affected by the pandemic?

I am working as a financial risk management actuary for a consulting firm, Buck. We work with sponsors of pension plans, usually a corporation or state, to manage their investments and their asset’s risk so they can fund their future pension obligations.

My work didn’t really change much because of the pandemic, besides working remotely. Many people in my company already worked from home either part-time or full-time, so the transition for the rest of us was pretty smooth. My company seems to be embracing the work from home model for the long-term and I don’t mind that because it has given me more flexibility in my day-to-day and flexibility of where I can live since I won’t be going into an office five days a week (including a recent move back to the Hudson Valley!).

Going back to your time at Marist as a long-distance runner: What are your fondest memories, greatest moments and general recollections of your 4 years as a Running Red Fox?

As many freshmen experience, the transition to college training the first year was tough. Big Bob and I stayed in touch and I remember talking to him after workouts and being like “that workout was harder than the last one” every time. One of the many nice things about being on a large team is that there are always people to train with, so that helped a ton to learn more about how to train and Be Better. Some of my favorite memories throughout my years at Marist are:

--Getting second at XC MAACs freshmen year. That was a fun season to be a part of and is always the goal of the team every year.

--I always liked the trips to Colonial Relays. The 10k was usually the first night, so it was nice to the rest of the days to watch the meet and enjoy being in the warmer weather. A memory that stands out is from sophomore year, the night of Palmer’s famous bus speech. Riley and I somehow missed the bus back to the hotel once the storm came through, so we ended up having to get dinner at Wawa and watched Shrek the Musical in the student center on their campus to pass the time. Luckily the meet continued later that night otherwise we would’ve had to walk back to the hotel. It worked out because we were able to pick up the numbers for everyone racing the 5k later on. Another memory is from senior year. After the first day of races a bunch of us from the distance team, and Nick Cruz, went to Cook Out near the hotel and ate burgers, chicken nuggets, fries, and milkshakes. That was a funny dinner and a fun way to recover from our races that day.

--The trips up to Buffalo for Regionals junior and senior year. Both years were mud slops but it was fun to put in spikes that destroy your calves and race.

--Spring workouts on the track. There’s nothing like doing 400m, 1km, 1600m, or 3200m repeats in the warm weather with the LD group. The Gatorade always tasted great and the caf sessions afterwards were fun.

--Although I obviously would’ve rather been running with the team every day, I kind of enjoyed the cross training plan you and I came up with for me while I was hurt for a few weeks in the middle of XC season my junior year. We had fun coming up with those killer bike and pool workouts so I could stay in shape and I was glad I was able to come back for championship season, especially for MAACs which was at Holmdel Park in New Jersey, so a lot of my family and high school teammates were able to come to watch.

--The last workout senior year before spring IC4As (editor's note: picture at top of the post!). Kerry, you, and I met at the Vassar track as the sun was setting for one final workout. Out of coincidence Kerry and I each had a 400m as our last interval at the same exact pace so we were able to run that part together. I kicked very hard in the last 50m to win (Kerry remembers this differently)!

There are so many other memories I could list out but in all I’m thankful for the teammates/friends and coaches I met. I’m proud to be a Running Red Fox alumni!

Until the pandemic hit and upended racing, you were starting to forge a pretty strong post-collegiate running career. Tell us about that as well as your future goals within the sport on the roads, track, etc.

The first few months after graduation were hard to get into a training schedule around work, but I finally got into a rhythm. In the fall of 2019 I ran a few half marathons and I raced a few XC meets with Shore AC including XC Club Nationals at Lehigh. Before the pandemic started, I raced an indoor 3k and I had some road races planned for the spring, but that all got canceled. I did a few virtual races in April and May since I was training pretty well, then I took a few weeks off. I had a good summer of training, but after it became apparent that fall and winter races weren’t going to be much of a thing I just have been base building and not putting any pressure of intense training on myself.

I am looking forward to getting back into a training cycle in the New Year though with the hope that races in the summer and fall can be back to normal. I will probably focus on the half marathon and maybe try my first marathon. We’ll see!

Riley (Hughes), Eamonn (Beers), and I had set a 2020 New Year’s Resolution of racing one race a month together as a way to stay in touch (and in shape) but obviously that didn’t happen. Hopefully in 2022 we can revisit that one!

Many of your former teammates were robbed of their final few months of their collegiate careers earlier this year. What message can you impart to them as well as to the current athletes going through similar processes?

I couldn’t imagine losing season(s) so I definitely feel for everyone. I know it sucks, but it’s important to just focus on the things you can control and let the rest happen. Try to make the best out of it and make memories that you’ll remember. Hopefully soon enough races will return for current members of the team and when they do, enjoy them.

What advice would you give to any high school junior or senior considering Marist College?

After you get the “YES” folder don’t look back! Throughout all the classes I took there are probably only a handful of professors I wouldn’t recommend someone take a class with, so for the most part, Marist professors really help you with your goals and care about your success. While you have certain classes required for your major, I think most majors have elective options for upper level courses so you’ll really have control to study the specific fields that interest you. And even if you can’t select electives for your major, the nice thing about a liberal arts school is you have a ton of other options for non-major courses. Also, get involved on campus. There are so many clubs and organizations available to choose from and you’ll meet people that you may not have otherwise. Make sure to eat as many of the breadsticks from the caf and vodka chicken parm sandwiches from Rossi’s in Building D as you can too.

As for anyone considering Marist to run XC/track, again say yes and don’t look back. Your teammates will become lifelong friends and you’ll be in a program that puts you in situations to run your best. If you come in and put in the effort, you’ll help the team be the best it can be and surprise yourself with your own personal growth. The coaches honestly care about your life outside of the sport and they are great resources as you navigate through college life as both a student and athlete.

Here's a new question I've added to the mix: If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to the 18-year-old high school senior named Mike Kennedy in Manalapan, NJ?

Don’t sweat the small things and add any more stress on top of what college already brings. There’s plenty of time in your post-grad life, so focus on your four years at Marist first, then worry about the rest. Also run more 3ks and 1500s!

Anything else you'd like to add ...

Thanks for asking me to take part in the series! It has been fun reading them. Go Foxes!